Professional truck driver Keith Becker just completed his fifth year participating in the Trucker Buddy International program with Conewago Township Elementary School in the Conewago Valley School District, Adams County.

TBI is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping educate and mentor schoolchildren through a pen pal relationship. Drivers share news weekly about their travels with their assigned classroom and the students write back once a month. Through the correspondence, students have an opportunity to enhance their skills in reading, writing, geography, mathematics, social studies and history.

Becker, a program participant since 2007, travels from coast to coast delivering and picking up all sorts of products and produce. He is currently assigned to Jenn Haugh’s third-grade class at Conewago Township Elementary, where he sends weekly postcards about places of interest and trivia questions.

By following his routes, the students learned to read maps and used math skills to calculate distances between his points of destination.

The highlight of the program was when he came to their classroom after parking his truck cab in the school parking lot. After a brief meeting, the class went outside to explore Becker’s cab to learn more about his home-away-from-home.

Keith Becker shows damage his rig sustained during tornadoes earlier this year and showed them an inside view of his cab.

Full-day kindergarten will begin in the fall at New Oxford and Conewago Township elementary schools, Conewago Valley School District. Children who turn 5 by Sept. 1 are eligible for admission.

An informational session will be held for parents of incoming kindergarten students, 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 28, in the school district auditorium, 130 Berlin Road, New Oxford. This is rescheduled from Feb. 22 due to inclement weather.

The session will provide detailed information concerning a kindergarten student’s schedule and curriculum. And parents will learn ways to be involved in their child’s schooling and the skills their child can work on to make the transition to school more successful. Informational pamphlets and registration packets will be available. Parents who are unable to attend may pick up a registration packet at one of the elementary schools.

The students in Ms. Fran Gallagher’s third grade class at Conewago Township Elementary hosted a Grandparents’ Tea on Nov. 9 in conjunction with a language arts study of traditions. Twelve grandparents attended the tea. They were asked to come prepared to talk about a tradition in their own family to tell the students about it. Pictured is Hayley Boteler and her grandmother, Shirley Boteler, holding up a family tablecloth that is signed by family members during special events.

READING PROJECT

READING PROJECT

READING PROJECT

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